The St. Louis Blues’ 3-2 victory in a shootout Tuesday night was the kind of game that will drive fans crazy.
At times the Blues had a laser like focus on the task at hand. Execution of all the little things head coach Ken Hitchcock makes a big deal of was there. Proper puck management was leading to scoring chances. Though they were not capitalizing on them as they have in general through the previous 12 games, the lead was still theirs.
Then a brief breakdown would lead to a Montreal goal and regression from team structure to individualism.
One cause for the deviation stands out among others. David Backes’ line was broken up as TJ Oshie and Chris Stewart swapped spots on right wing.
Lost in the effort to spread the wealth of tenacity and goal scoring was continuity.
Two key lines were adjusting to newcomers with different play styles and strengths than their predecessors. Both showed flashes of play that were on par with the previous composition. Specifically the play behind the Canadiens net where Backes set up Alexander Steen for the first goal of the game comes to mind as an example. However, as the connotation of flashes implies, they were fleeting. Hesitation, not just because Montreal was clogging the middle of the zone to block shots, was partially due to a lack of familiarity.
Not to say that the team doesn’t know each other. They do. But their comfort level on the ice with each other wasn’t as strong as it has been.
Stewart seemed tentative and seemingly differed to Backes and Steen more than he has with Derek Roy. Oshie fit right in with Vladimir Sobotka, but Roy seemed out of place on left wing with those two driving play.
It wasn’t until the half way point of the third period that the trios were reunited. With the Blues trailing 2-1 Hitchcock really had no choice but to default to what has been working. After Michael Bournival’s snapper past Jaroslav Halak at the end of the second set the visitors were succumbing to the renewed vigor of the home team they had generally controlled most of the game. It was not that long after that St. Louis knotted the score at 2-2 and would dominate through overtime and the shootout.
Moral of the story? If something isn’t broke, don’t fix it.
Case in point, the Patrik Berglund line. It was the only one of the four kept intact and was consistently the Blues’ best group from start to finish.
This kind of meticulous micromanaging by Hitchcock is both a blessing and a curse. It keeps the 21 skaters and two goalies on their toes. Ready for whatever is thrown at them or put on their backs. It’s bred the tenacity, dedication to the cause, and all the other warm and fuzzies the Blues have become known for. That said, it can lead to premature tweaks that aren’t required. The consequences of which aren’t often positive enough to counter the negatives for such a well oiled machine.
There will be a time where injuries force shifts in assignments. It’s as inevitable as it is that the sun will come up each day. But change for the sake of change or when inappropriate levels of change as it relates to the situation is avoidable.
Hitch deserves kudos for spotting a trend, that goals for totals were skewed due bloated totals against weaker opponents, and working to address it. Even if the solution was a bit of an over correction. Props earned again for recognizing it and reverting.
It will be interesting to watch how alterations derived from performance, not injury, are handled. Personally, I’d like to see an increase in shifts for the other two scoring lines rather than breaking up combos that are generally clicking. We’ll see what Hitch does.
Quick Hits
-- Halak was outstanding in goal aside from the two goals he was hung out on. He made 25 saves on 27 shots against. None better than his penalty shot save late in the third on Tomas Plekanec.
-- Speaking of the penalty shot, how strange of a call was that? The back ref blows the play dead as the one with the best view did not. Just not a fan of judgment calls like that being made from so far away.
-- Jaden Schwartz’s state line is not impressive (Minus-1, 1 SOG, 18 min TOI), but his performance would lead you to believe otherwise. Another solid performance from Steen’s mini-me.
-- Carey Price was solid in the loss, stopping 30 of 32 shots faced. His rebound control limited the Blues second chances and resulted in quite a few one and done rushes. He got quite a bit of help from the five skaters in front of him. Montreal blocked 38 shots in 65 minutes. Basically one block every two minutes. John Totorella would be proud to have had that commitment when the Blues played Vancouver.
-- Ryan Reaves and George Parros went at it in a heavy weight bout. Parros narrowly took the decision. Reaves held his own.
-- Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo each took 40 shifts and played 29 and 30 minutes respectively. All the changes up front haven’t trickled down to the back end, yet. Nor should they.
Must See Replay
A tie between Halak’s stop on Plekanec on the penalty shot and Oshie’s shootout winn.er
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